By the Shore: Follow Me!

“Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him." (Luke 5:10-11).

“Fear not and follow me.”

Those five words sum up the call of Christ to each of us. We must set aside our worry about the future and our fear of what others may think of us. Until we do that, we can never truly follow Jesus.

For Peter and the other disciples, following Christ meant leaving behind the old life (including the incredible catch of fish), giving up their boats, their nets, and their livelihood, and following Christ into an unknown future. Dietrich Bonhoeffer described it this way: “They must burn their boats and plunge into absolute insecurity in order to learn the demand and the gift of Christ.”

Letting go must always come first. Anything that hinders our walk with Christ must go. Even some good things must go in order that better things may come from the Lord. We can’t have it both ways.

The word for “followed” means “to walk the same road.” That’s what a disciple does—he walks the same road as Jesus. He gets on the “Jesus road” and follows it wherever it may lead. No guarantees, no deals, no special promises. He simply walks that road every day, following in his Master’s steps.

Don’t be afraid to follow Jesus. You’ll never regret starting down the “Jesus road.” You’ll only regret that you waited so long to do it.

Are you ready to follow Jesus wherever he leads? That’s where it all begins. The rest is just details.

Lord Jesus, let faith rise to replace our fear. May we not hold back, not even a little bit, but gladly leave all to follow you. Amen.